The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance, edited by Dennis Kennedy
The Cambridge History of British Theatre, edited by Jane Milling, et al
BRITAIN
The Cambridge History of British Theatre (3 vols.)
edited by Jane Milling, Peter Thomson, Joseph Donohue, and Baz Kershaw
Cambridge University Press, 2004
PN2581 .C36 2004
A Dictionary of Actors and Other Persons Associated with the Public Representation of Plays in England before 1642
by Edwin Nungezer
Greenwood Press, 1968
PN2597 .N8 1968
The Dramatic List: A Record of the Principal Performances of Living Actors and Actresses of the British Stage...
by Charles Eyre Pascoe
Scholarly Press, 1971 (reprint of 1879 edition)
PN2597 .P3 1971
GENERAL
The Encyclopedia of World Theater
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1977
PN2035 .E52 1977
Theatrical Directors: A Biographical Dictionary
edited by John W. Frick and Stephen M. Vallillo
Greenwood Press, 1994
PN2205 .T54 1994
Who's Who in the Theatre (6 editions)
Pitman; Gale, 1947-1981
PN2012 .W5
Contemporary Literary Criticism (221 vols.)
Gale, 1973-2006
PN85 .C7
Drama Criticism (40 vols.)
Gale, 1991-current
PN1601 .D59
European Writers (14 vols.)
edited by George Stade
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1983-1991
PN501 .E9 1983
Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism (177 vols.)
Gale, 1981-2006
PN771 .G27
Reference books are a great place to start your search. Reference books provide an overview of a topic, typically just a few pages. If you take a few moments to skim a reference book, you'll get some great ideas on the key points on your topic that you can use for deeper research.
Reference books are shelved on the main floor of the library. The books must be used in the library, but because the entries are so brief, it is usually takes just a few minutes to jot down a few notes or make a list of relevant keywords.
A Chronology of American Musical Theater, by Richard C. Norton (3 vols.)
Drama Criticism (40 vols., 1991-current)
Broadway: The American Musical, by Laurence Maslon
The A to Z of German Theater
by William Grange
Scarecrow Press, 2006
PN2657 .G73 2010
The A to Z of Japanese Traditional Theatre
by Samuel L. Leiter
Scarecrow Press, 2010
PN2921 .L45 2010
American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama, 1969-2000
by Thomas S. Hischak
Oxford University Press, 2001
PN2277.N5 H57 2000
Blacks in Blackface: A Source Book on Early Black Musical Shows
by Henry T. Sampso
Scarecrow Press, 1980
ML1711 .S25
Broadway: Its History, People, and Places: An Encyclopedia
by Ken Bloom
Routledge, 2004
F128.65.T5 B56 2004
Broadway Musicals, Show by Show (5th ed.)
by Stanley Green
Hal Leonard, 1996
ML1711 .G735 1996
Broadway: The American Musical
by Laurence Maslon
Bulfinch Press, 2004
ML1711.8.N3 M37 2004
The Cambridge Guide to Asian Theatre
edited by James R. Brandon
Cambridge University Press, 1993
PN2860 .C35 1993
The Cambridge Guide to Theatre
edited by Martin Banham
Cambridge University Press, 1995
PN2035 .C27 1995
The Cambridge History of American Theatre (3 vols.)
edited by Don B. Wilmeth and Christopher Bigsby
Cambridge University Press, 1998-2000
PN2221 .C37 1998
The Cambridge History of British Theatre (3 vols.)
edited by Jane Milling, Peter Thomson, Joseph Donohue, and Baz Kershaw
Cambridge University Press, 2004
PN2581 .C36 2004
A Chronology of American Musical Theater (3 vols.)
by Richard C. Norton
Oxford University Press, 2002
ML1711.8.N3 N67 2002
Complete Book of the American Musical Theater: A Guide to More Than 300 productions... (Rev. ed.)
by David Ewen
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1959
ML1711 .E9 1959
The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre (2nd ed., 3 vols.)
by Kurt Gänzl
Schirmer Books, 2001
ML102.M88 G3 2001
The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville
by Anthony Slide
Greenwood Press, 1994
PN2277.N5 H57 2000
The Encyclopedia of World Theater
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1977
PN2035 .E52 1977
Gänzl's Book of the Musical Theatre
by Kurt Ganzl and Andrew Lamb
Schirmer Books, 1989
MT95 .G2 1989
Key Concepts in Drama and Performance
by Kenneth Pickering
Palgrave Macmillan, 2010
PN1579 .P53 2010
Metropolitan Opera Annals: A Chronicle of Artists and Performances (+ 2 suppl.)
compiled by William H. Seltsam
Wilson and Metropolitan Opera Guild, 1947-68
ML1711.8.N32 M48
The Oxford Companion to American Theatre (3rd ed.)
by Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak
Oxford University Press, 2004
PN2220 .B6 2004
The Oxford Companion to the Theatre (3rd ed.)
edited by Phyllis Hartnoll
Oxford University Press, 1967
PN2035 .H3 1967
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance (2 vols.)
edited by Dennis Kennedy
Oxford University Press, 2003
PN2035 .O94 2003
The Oxford Illustrated History of Theatre
edited by John Russell Brown
Oxford University Press, 1995
PN2111 .O95 1995
The Penguin Dictionary of the Theatre
edited by Jonathan Law, David Pickering, and Richard Helfer
Penguin Books, 2001 (rev. and enlarged ed.)
PN2035 .P46 2001
The Theater Dictionary: British and American Terms in the Drama, Opera, and Ballet
by Wilfred Granville
Greenwood Press, 1970 (reprint of 1952 edition)
PN2035 .G7 1970
Theatre Language: A Dictionary of Terms in English of the Drama and Stage from Medieval to Modern Times
by Walter Parker Bowman and Robert Hamilton Ball
Theatre Arts Books, 1961
PN2035 .B6
The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre (2 vols.)
edited by Don Rubin
Routledge, 1994-1996
PN1861 .W67 1994
